Tool for removing vehicle door and window handles



June 21, 1966 w. D. BOYDEN 3,256,595

TOOL FOR REMOVING VEHICLE DOOR AND WINDOW HANDLES Filed Sept. 16. 1965 I m WM 20 m n l-awq M W )W m 37 as i f I INVENTOR. WALTER D. BOYDEN ATTORNEYS 3,256,5d Patented June 21, 1966 3,256,595 T601. F01 REMOVING VEHICLE DUOR AND WINDOW HANDLES Walter 1). Hayden, 26147 Palmer, Madison Heights, Mich. Filed Sept. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 309,016 4 Claims. (Cl. 29229) This invention relates to a novel and improved hand tool for removing window and door handles of automobiles, and more particularly to a hand tool for manipulating open ended spring retainer clips of the type generally used for holding said handles upon the shafts of the window or door regulating mechanisms.

It is an important of the present invention to provide a tool for removing vehicle window and door handles which are secured on a shaft by a substantially U-shaped resilient retainer clip so that both the retainer clip and the handle are held by the tool when the handle is removed from the shaft to prevent loss of the clip.

It is another object to provide a hand tool of this character which is made from a unitary flat piece of metal, or like material, so as to provide a simple and compact construction which is eflicient and fast in operation, and economical of manufacture.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hand tool of this character which may be used to release vehicle window and door handle spring retainer clips which are in relatively inaccessible places where ordinary tools cannot be conveniently used.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a removal tool for door or window regulator handles having a shaft engaging portion which is held on a regulator shaft by a retainer spring clip, and which tool includes an elongated handle made from a substantially flat, rectangular, rigid sheet metal, or other suitable material, and which is provided at one end thereof with a stepped, inwardly extended recess having the outer por tion thereof larger in width than the inner portion thereof, .and said tool being further provided with a pair of diverging slots formed outer portions of said stepped recess, whereby when the tool is thrust into place between a handle and a confronting surface of a vehicle door, the tool will have a straddling engagement with the shaft engaging portion of the handle so that the U-shaped retainer clip holding the handle to the shaft will have the ends thereof engaged in the diverging slots and be spread outwardly to release the shaft from the shaft engaging portion of the handle so as to permit the handle, retainer clip and tool to be withdrawn from the shaft.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, appended claims, and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view of a portion of a vehicle door inner wall, and showing a tool of the present invention mounted in place preparatory to removing a window regulator handle;

' FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 2-2 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the tool and handle structure illustrated in FIG. 2, taken along the line 3-3 thereof, and showing the structure in a reversed position;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view similar to FIG. 3 and showing the tool moved inwardly so as to move the retaincr clip to the inoperative position;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the tool of the present invention, taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 6, and looking in the direction of the arrows; and,

at the junction of the inner and- FIG. 6 is a top view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 5, taken along the line 66 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 14) generally indicates the inner panel of a vehicle door. The numeral 11 generally indicates the conventional window or door regulator handle which is provided with the usual knob 12. The handle 11 is provided with a shaft engaging portion in the form of a sleeve 13 in which is formed the inwardly extended bore Mfor the reception of the regulator shaft 15.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the shaft engaging sleeve 13 is provided with an enlarged outer diameter on its inner end which forms a shoulder 16 adapted to function as a retainer clip seat. The enlarged shaft engaging portion 16 has a pair of integral outwardly extending projections 17 and 18 on diametrically oppositely disposed sides of the shaft engaging sleeve 13. The handle 11 is releasably secured to the regulator shaft 15 by means of the substantially U-shaped retainer spring clip 19 which includes the .bight portion 21 and the integral inwardly bent legs 21 and 22.

The shaft engaging sleeve 13 is provided with the pair of slots 23 and 24, on opposite sides thereof, which are disposed at right angles to the axis of the regulator shaft 15 and which extend through the wall of sleeve 13 and communicate with the bore 14. The slots 23 and 24 are slots 23 and 24- into the bore 1 1- of the sleeve 13 and into locking engagement with the recesses 25 and 26, respectively. The free ends of the retainer spring clip legs 21 and 22 are indicated by the numerals 27 and 28, respectively, and they extend radially outwardly from the sleeve 13 in a diverging relationship.

As best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the tool of the present invention includes the elongated body 29 of which the front end forms the retainer spring clip engaging portion and the rear end comprises the handle for the tool. The

, tool may be made from a substantially flat, rectangular,

rigid sheet metal, or other suitable material. As shown in FIG. 5, the front end of the tool comprises the retainer spring clip engaging portion and it is indicated -by the numeral 30. The rear end of the body 29 is indicated by the numeral 31. The body portions 30 and 31 are bent so as to provide a camber in the tool as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The front end of the tool body portion 30 is reduced in thickness as shown in FIG. 6 to permit the tool to be easily inserted behind the handle 11. The rear end of the handle portion 31 is provided with an outwardly extended flange 32 which is disposed at right angles to the portion 31. The flange 32 provides a means for exerting longitudinal pressure on the tool to insert it behind the handle 11 for operation of the tool.

The front end of the tool body 29 is provided with a longitudinally disposed inwardly extended stepped recess which divides the front end of the tool into the two spaced apart clip legs 35 and 36 which have the front ends thereof rounded to assist the entry of the tool behind the handle 11 during a clip releasing operation. The stepped recess has the outer parallel longitudinally extended side guide surfaces 33 and 34 as clearly shown in FIG. 5. The inner portion of said stepped recess is reduced in width and extends inwardly longitudinally of the tool body 29 to the transverse inner end surface 37. The surface 37 is perpendicular to the recess outer guide surfaces 33 and 34. The inner portion of the stepped recess is provided with the side guide surfaces 38 and 39 which are parallel to each other and to the outer portion side guide surfaces 33 and 34. The inner recess portion side guide surfaces 38 and 39 are disposed transversely inwardly relative to the outer portion side guide surfaces 33 and 34.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recess inner portion side guide surfaces 38 and 39 terminate at their outer ends at the wedge points 40 and 41. The tool includes the two inwardly extended, outwardly sloping slots 42 and 43 which diverge outwardly relative to each other and which are disposed at the juncture of the inner and outer portions of the stepped recess.

In the use of the tool, the front end thereof is inserted in the space between the handle 11 and the vehicle wall It The operator may grasp the flange 32 and. move the tool to a position behind the handle 11 as indicated in FIG. 3. In the position shown in FIG. 3, the retainer spring clip leg ends 27 and 28 extend into the slots 43 and 42, respectively. Continued inward movement of the tool will move the same to the position shown in FIG. 4 wherein the inner end 37 of the inner portion of the stepped recess abuts the projection 17 and limits further inward movement of the tool.

It will be seen that during movement of the tool from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 4, the wedge points 40 and 41 will engage the inner sides of the retainer spring clip leg ends 27 and 28 and cam the same outwardly to the position shown in FIG. 4, wherein the bent portions of the clip legs 21 and 22 are camrned out of the recesses 25 and 26 in the regulator shaft 15. The handle 11, the clip 19 and the tool body 29 may then 'be removed as a unit from the shaft 15. It will be seen that the spring clip 19 is not removed entirely from the shaft engaging sleeve 13 but that the clip stays in the slots 23 and 24 in the one end portion abutting the wall of the sleeve 13. After the handle 11 has been thus removed the tool may be moved back to the position shown in FIG. 3 and removed from the handle if desired. The handle 11 may be mounted on a regulator shaft by merely reversing the aforedescribed handle removing operation.

Experience has shown that the tool of the present invention is particularly designed to be manufactured at a very low cost and that it is efficient in operation and easy to use.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the su-bjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A tool for removing a vehicle regulator handle from a regulator shaft having a pair of recesses wherein the regulator handle is held on the shaft by a retainer spring clip which is mounted on a shaft engaging sleeve on the regulator handle which is provided with a pair of legs adapted to extend through slots in the sleeve and pass into locking engagement in said recesses in the shaft, said tool comprising a handle made from flat rigid sheet material; a stepped, inwardly extended recess in one end of said tool handle and having the outer portion thereof larger in width than the inner portion thereof; said tool being provided with a pair of diverging slots formed in said tool handle at the juncture of the inner and. outer portions of said stepped recess and disposed at an angle relative to the inner portion of said stepped recess, whereby when the tool is inserted between said regulator handle and the adjacent surface on which it is mounted, the tool will straddle said shaft engaging sleeve on the regulator handle, and the legs of said U-shaped retainer spring clip holding the regulator handle to the shaft will be engaged in said diverging slots and be spread outwardly to move the clip legs out of engagement with the recesses in said shaft recesses to release the shaft from the shaft engaging sleeve of the regulator handle to permit the regulator handle, retainer clip and. tool to be withdrawn from the shaft.

2. A tool for removing a vehicle regulator handle from a regulator shaft as defined in claim 1, wherein: said tool handle includes a sidewardly, outwardly extended flange on the other end of said handle.

3. A tool for removing a vehicle regulator handle from a regulator shaft as defined in claim 1, wherein: the side guide surfaces of the inner and outer portions of the stepped recesses are parallel with each other and extend longitudinally of the tool handle, and the side guide surfaces of the inner portion of the stepped recess are offset transversely, inwardly from the side guide surfaces of the outer portion of the stepped recess.

4. A tool for removing a vehicle regulator handle from a regulator shaft as defined in claim 1, wherein: both of the spaced apart side wall surfaces of said slots are disposed at an angle to the side wall surfaces of the inner and outer portion of said stepped recess.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,576,262 11/1951 Morehead 29278 2,799,082 7/1957 Mann 29229 3,173,197 3/1965 Tuller 29229 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner. J. C PETERS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TOOL FOR REMOVING A VEHICLE REGULATOR HANDLE FROM A REGULATOR SHAFT HAVING A PAIR OF RECESS WHEREIN THE REGULATOR HANDLE IS HELD ON THE SHAFT BY A RETAINER SPRING CLIP WHICH IS MOUNTED ON A SHAFT ENGAGING SLEEVE ON THE REGULATOR HANDLE WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF LEGS ADAPTED TO EXTEND THROUGH SLOTS IN THE SLEEVE AND PASS INTO LOCKING ENGAGEMENT IN SAID RECESSES IN THE SHAFT, SAID TOOL COMPRISING A HANDLE MADE FROM FLAT RIGID SHEET MATERIALF A STEPPED, INWARDLY EXTENDED RECESS IN ONE END OF SAID TOOL HANDLE AND HAVING THE OUTER PORTION THEREOF LARGER IN WIDTH THAN THE INNER PORTION THEREOF; SAID TOOL BEING PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF DIVERGING SLOTS FORMED IN SAID TOOL HANDLE AT THE JUNCTION OF THE INNER AND OUTER PORTIONS OF SAID STEPPED RECESS AND DISPOSED AT AN ANGLE RELATIVE TO THE INNER PORTION OF SAID STEPPED RECESS, WHEREBY WHEN THE TOOL IS INSERTED BETWEEN SAID REGULATOR HANDLE AND THE ADJACENT SURFACE ON WHICH IT IS MOUNTED, THE TOOL WILL STRADDLE SAID SHAFT ENGAGING SLEEVE ON THE REGULATOR HANDLE, AND THE LEGS OF SAID U-SHAPED RETAINER SPRING CLIP HOLDING THE REGULATOR HANDLE TO THE SHAFT WILL BE ENGAGED IN SAID DIVERGING SLOTS AND BE SPREAD OUTWARDLY TO MOVE THE CLIP LEGS OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH RECESSES IN SAID SHAFT RECESSES TO RELEASE THE SHAFT FROM THE SHAFT ENGAGING SLEEVE TO THE REGULATOR HANDLE TO PERMIT THE REGULATOR HANDLE, RETAINER CLIP AND TOOL TO BE WITHDRAWN FROM THE SHAFT. 